CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Lowers Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,965 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,956 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $3,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after buying an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 32,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $1,614,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at $4,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.24 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $16.40 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.57 and a 200 day moving average of $19.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,874,498.11. The trade was a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First BanCorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.